Ascent to the Dark
by Chitinase
Summary: Every evil has its origins and reasons, just like how every story has its beginnings, no matter how short. This is Seshru's story.
1. Prologue

Prologue: The Snake Charmer

_Her father bent down and passed her Loki, her pet, his Viper clan tattoos a stark contrast against his face. His skin, usually tan, had turned pale out of pain and fear for his mate and daughter. Blood flowed from his wounds. _

_He turned to his mate. "Remember, take Loki-" here the snake hissed at the mention of its name, while the girl silenced it with barely a glance, willing her father to continue. They were running out of time."-and Aletyys and then go. Don't look back. Don't bother about me. She is more important than me, her life more precious than mine." He then turned to her. "Loki knows things. She will tell you why this is all happening."_

_Her mother bit back a sob, then nodded. She took her daughter, fleeing from the evil that chased them all, the terror that left nothing but death in its wake._

"_Loki? Why?" she asked softly, wanting the snake to clarify. It would make things all right. Loki knew everything. "Why can I talk to you? Why is all of this happening?" _

Little mistress. Sit down, and I will tell you all you need to know before mistress returns from her hunt. When the time comes, you will then be ready to take up the mantle.

_They made an odd pair, the girl and her snake sitting there, sharing knowledge. By the time her mother returned, the girl knew everything she needed to. It was her destiny to be the one._

_

* * *

_

A/N: Phew, finally finished the prologue. I hope I had enough foreshadowing and I didn't want to be _too _specific about the entire thing. Also, this is the first time I'm writing fanfiction and I hope it turns out well, and not too confusing.

Aletyys is pronounced as el-lee-tis, in case you were wondering.


	2. 1: Finding

Chapter 1: Finding

The girl closed her eyes, willing herself to rid her mind of the images of death. She was only thirteen summers old, yet had seen more of cruelty than many clan elders had.

_Little mistress, what is wrong? _The snake slithered up her knee.

_Nothing, Loki, nothing._ Loki was now thirteen summers old, and it had been seven summers since... No, she shook her head, her midnight tresses flying all over the place, it was better not to think about it.

_Do you still miss master and mistress? _Loki knew she had said something wrong, for her mistress immediately stood up and stalked away to her favourite hideout - the old raft which she and her mother made had used to get to this small island in the first place. It was now old and tattered, and could not be repaired. Her mother had died six summers ago. Now she was alone on this small island with none but Loki for company. How could she do the things told to her, her heritage? She sighed. Fate had a way of working things out.

Her lip curled. Yes, fate would always help. It ran in her blood, the snake charmer. It was her destiny.

The girl - Aletyys - had blossomed from a little girl to a beautiful young woman. Before her mother died of the same disease that brought so many prey down, she had struggled to her feet for the last time to attempt to retrieve the snake tooth charm from the forest that they had dropped behind so many years ago as a last gift for her little girl.

Her mother had failed, but what did it matter anymore? Her parents were dead. Aletyys longed for it. It reminded her of happier days, with the rest of the clan. Briefly, she let her thoughts wander. How were they now? Were the prey abundant? Although she herself had some skill in hunting, ever since her mother passed away, she preferred eating plants and what they could give.

She was weak. Her father died to protect her and her legacy. Her mother passed away because she couldn't do anything to help her. Instead, all she did was sit and weep while her mother wasted away, day by day. She was useless. _Useless._ Inwardly she cursed herself. _Fool, fool! Being useless never did anything! If I had just known… then they wouldn't have died. You are a useless fool, Aletyys! No… it's Seshru. You are not Aletyys any longer. Aletyys was just a child who knew nothing._

Squaring her shoulders, she made a resolution to herself. _No one else will suffer because of my inability to act. I will do anything for them. I will not be weak._

Under the guidance of wise, and now relatively old, Loki, she had learnt the arts of healing and poison. Snakes may not be very good teachers, but they knew more secrets than anyone else.

This day, something special was going to happen. Seshru could feel it.

* * *

They were on their daily lesson-cum-walk through the forests, where Loki would teach her about the plants and herbs of the forest. Occasionally, they would, by mutual consent, go by the shore which was closest to the Forest. It was possible to see the deep green of the Forest from the island, and she longed to be back in the Forest, around people. Although some would avoid her back then, she was cared for. There were always people. She had never felt so alone as she was on the island.

Loki was the first to notice the person lying on the beach.

_Little mistress, there is someone here!_

_I'm coming Loki, do you know who that is?_

To that, the snake was silent. She did not know who it was.

If Loki had not pointed it out, she could have easily mistaken the person for a pile of debris. Now that she had a closer look, she could see a shocking mob of deep red hair covering a boy's face. _No, not boy, _she thought,_ he is no more a boy than I am still a girl._

_Loki!_

_Yes little mistress?_

_We should bring him to the shelter and then ask him how he got here. Maybe he'll even find a way to get us back to the Forest! _Seshru's eyes gleamed in anticipation.

Loki was worried. Seshru had never shown so much interest in the Forest until this… _boy_-child turned up. It was a problem which she was resolved to fix.

* * *

She watched as her mistress brought the boy back to her shelter, laying him down to rest while preparing a simple potion for him to take when he woke up. She slithered up to him, watching him. Those tattoos… _Raven clan, _she hissed in disbelief.

This was the boy-child who would ruin them all. This was the one who was foretold to mislead her mistress from her destiny. _The raven watches as the viper falls, dead. _The vision would not come to pass. She was, after all, the one who was created to set them straight. Her mistress could not deviate from the plan. She would not allow it.

* * *

A/N: I actually like this chapter! I was trying to convey Loki's ideas of sticking to the rules, in the sense that she must allow Seshru to be 'what she must be'. Also, this will be an introduction to the more manipulative side of Loki.


	3. 2: Discourse

Chapter 2: Discourse

A groan, a murmur, and he opened his eyes only to see a shelter. Sitting up, he looked around and found himself on a small cot in a grove. It was dark, he noted, a large difference from the daylight he recalled when his raft capsized. How many hours had passed since then?

"You're awake," came the murmur of a somewhat hoarse and evidently underused female voice.

Wildly, he whipped his head to the left, in the direction of the voice. "Who's- ouch." he yelped, finding that his left arm _hurt_.

A movement caught the corner of his eye and he watched a young girl – she did not look any more than fourteen summers – step out of the shadows which she had been crouching in, tending to something on the floor that he couldn't possibly identify from this distance. Dressed in shades of dappled brown and black, it was no wonder that he had not noticed her.

She ignored him and instead removed the bindings on his arm (she must've fixed his wound while he was asleep, he realised) before daubing a strong smelling mixture of herbs on his arm with practiced fluidity. Feeling a slight sting for a few moments, he hissed a little, causing the girl to throw him an amused look. "It's a broken bone, probably from bashing it against the rocks around; I've fixed it already but the wound started to fester. This should stop the festering."

While she tended to his arm attentively, binding the medicine to his wound and setting it straight with some thick leaves, branches and vines, he took the time to observe her. The first thing he noticed were her clan tattoos, solid zigzagged bands of black which stood out almost defiantly on her pale cheekbones. _Viper clan_, he silently deduced, _but what is she doing so far away from the open forest? _He continued to watch her intently.

"Hey, um, thank you." She merely nodded and busied herself with clearing the mess on the ground. As uncomfortable as he felt talking to someone who was unlikely to reply to any of his questions, he continued. "How long have I…" for lack of better terms, he could only gesture with his right arm (he found that he really hated not being able to use one arm).

She quirked a fine eyebrow at his question. "Two days."

There was a further silence as he watched the girl busy herself before sighing mentally to himself. _Imagine being stuck with her for any more than a day_. He didn't think he would be able to take it. Unable to think of anything to say, he could only fidget with the edge of his makeshift bandage.

He began to consider getting used to these silences, after all, it didn't seem like they were going to change anytime soon. _And anyway it would be quite impossible to leave in the short run_, he thought, looking at his splintered left arm. _Well, if I have to stay here, I can't possibly keep calling her "hey"._

* * *

"Hey, what's your name?"

The question was so unexpected that Seshru simply blinked at this before turning slowly to face the boy – because that was all he was, a scrawny looking boy who looked like he was trying to be a man. And of course, bearing the tattoos of the Raven clan. While she hadn't met anyone for a few summers, she could still identify most of the clan tattoos, for the most part due to Loki's lessons.

She considered for a moment before deigning to dignify his question with a response. "Aletyys."

_Not Seshru_, she told herself_. Not yet._

From her spot on the ground a few paces away, Loki sluggishly raised her head and gave her mistress and unblinking stare, one that Seshru recognized as waiting for an answer.

"Kraan of the Ra-" A fit of dry hacking coughs cut off the rest of what the boy – Kraan, or so he said – was going to say.

_Raven clan_, Seshru mused. _Interesting. _After all, both the Raven and Viper clans were from the open forest and judging from the way he looked, he seemed a little older than her. Perhaps they may had have met previously at some clan meet before. Whatever it was, this boy might prove to be the one thing that would break the monotony of the past four summers.

Silently, she passed him a cup of warm water which he received with a murmured word, "Thanks." Seshru inclined her head slightly at this, placing the last bit of mess that was in the clearing in its proper place and returning to sit near Loki.

The boy cleared his throat. "Kraan of the Raven clan." She felt his sharp eyes on her as she gently twisted Loki around her arm. "Are you… of the Viper clan?"

Seshru paused before she nodded. "Yes. Though I'm not too sure they would consider me one of their own." A dry smile surfaced, caused by a slight twitch of her facial muscles.

He regarded her curiously. "Is there a particular reason why you're so far away from the rest of your clan when you seem to be no older than fourteen…"

His question died off as he realised just how insensitive that had sounded. _Stupid_, he berated himself_. After all, she did mention that her clan may not approve of her._

Seshru could only watch on in amusement, privy to whatever thoughts Kraan may have had – every thought of his was practically written on his face and he did indeed appear to be quite readable. Even Loki hissed quietly, indicating her interest in this particular character after her initial unwillingness for Seshru to even consider helping him. Why this was so, however, was unknown to Seshru.

"Thirteen summers have passed since my birth, five of which I've spent here." she answered, "And at least two more before I am to return to my clan." Seshru did not offer any other explanations, for the reason to that was beyond even her knowledge. All she knew was that her mother had instructed that she should not leave the islet for the open forest at any cost until she was at least fifteen summers, and that her mother herself had no inkling of the reason so. All she knew was that this had been ordered by her father.

"…oh." Kraan muttered, realising that he had just asked a rather silly question. "Well, when do you think I'll be able to go back?" he asked in a vain attempt to wave aside the awkward atmosphere descending upon them.

"After you arm recovers, unless you'd like to risk rowing a raft across the river with a broken arm."

Kraan really couldn't argue with that reasoning. He supposed he'd be stuck with this odd girl – Aletyys – until his arm healed. Then he would go back home. Kraan sighed. It was going to be a long time. And he supposed his family would be worried. Casting a glance at Aletyys, he realized she was now sitting near the middle of the shelter and preoccupied with the snake – an unusually brilliantly coloured viper – that was circled around her arm. Settling back on the bed and carefully making sure not to use his left arm, Kraan decided to leave his question as to how to contact his clan to the next day. After all, he was already missing for two days, and another wouldn't make too much of a difference. _And it's probably almost dawn already anyway. _Just before he fell asleep though, Kraan realized Aletyys was still sitting on the ground, staring into space as the snake slithered up her arm and around her neck where it rested for a few moments, flicking its tongue at the delicate shell of her ear and tasting her skin.

He shuddered.

* * *

_I thought he would be more of a threat but he obviously isn't._ Loki hissed and Seshru could detect the amusement in her tone.

_Will you still not tell me why you wouldn't let me save him at first?_

Loki stilled for a moment. _You do not need to know, little mistress. If you do, I will be sure to let you know._

Seshru chuckled softly. _You know you cannot keep secrets from me. But I will let you go this time. _Saying this, she gently placed Loki on the ground and moved over to a makeshift cot, laying down in it and waiting for sleep to claim her weary mind.

Loki found her warm burrow of dead leaves and slid inside silently. If she was able to, she'd be laughing by now. _Oh, little mistress. You do not know how much I keep from you. It is no matter. I will handle it, and I will protect the snake-charmer from the scavenging raven._

* * *

A/N: HI GUYS I'M BACK. Yes, after three years of hiatus. For that I'm really sorry, I've been really busy because of various things but that's no excuse I realise so well I hope you had fun reading this chapter, because I had fun writing it (again).

Kraan is pronounced "CRAN", like in cranberry.


End file.
